


Sense and Sensibility (And Thieves)

by meils121



Category: Leverage
Genre: Festivals, Gen, References to Jane Austen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meils121/pseuds/meils121
Summary: A Jane Austen Reenactment Festival is the last place any of them ever thought they'd find a job.  But trust Sophie to find one - and trust her to make sure they're all wearing period-appropriate clothing for the con.





	Sense and Sensibility (And Thieves)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [babythor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/babythor/gifts).



          It starts - as these things do - when Sophie is contacted by a friend of a friend, a lovely little old English woman who watches Eliot like a hawk while he prepares her a cup of tea.  She inclines her head after taking a sip, which Parker _thinks_ means it’s okay.  She’s not good at reading those sorts of signals yet.

          At any rate, the woman - Rosemary - wraps her hands around the mug and shakes her head.  “It’s just a shame.”  She says with a sigh.  “Years and years of work and it’s all down the drain.”

          “What is?”  Parker slides into the booth next to Sophie.  “Robots gone bad?  Secret plans hacked?  Ooh, stolen paintings?”

          Rosemary gives her a steady look.  “Not quite.”  She says.  Her accent is stronger than Sophie’s, a little harder to understand.  “They’re going to shut down the festival.”

          Sophie gasps.  “No!”  She says.  “That’s - why?  I thought things were going well.  It was positively packed last year.”

          Rosemary gives a tiny shrug of her shoulders.  “I’m not sure.  They say there’s no money.”

          “But?”

          “I saw the books.”  Rosemary says.  “I was organizing things after last year, and the books were laying out.  They made a huge amount of money, even after expenses.  And then the new company comes in to run things, and suddenly there’s no money.”

          “Suspicious.”  Parker agrees with a nod.  “Probably an evil CEO.”

          Rosemary’s second look is a little less steady.  “Who are you, again?”  She asks in that blunt way only people over seventy can even think about getting away with.  

          “She’s my colleague.”  Sophie says before Parker can answer.  “We’ve handled some - delicate situations before.  That’s why Marie suggested we meet.”

          “Hmm.”  Rosemary studies Parker for a moment.  “Well, I don’t know about evil, but something’s definitely going on.  Us founders don’t want to see all our hard work washed away by some kid who doesn’t know how to run a festival.  And who doesn’t know a good thing when they see it.”

          An hour later - tea finished - Rosemary bids them farewell and leaves.  Parker trails after Sophie as they head for the back room, where the others have undoubtedly assembled and begun preparing.

          “The Portland Jane Austen Festival is a big draw every summer.”  Hardison says.  He points at the screen.  “About ten thousand people show up for a week of pretending to be someone from the Regency period.”

          Sophie sniffs.  “It’s not about pretending.”  She says.  “It’s about embracing a way of life from long ago and remembering the traditions.”  

          “Yeah, what she said.  Anyways, your friend Rosemary was one of three founders of the festival.  It started in the late ‘80s.  About ten years ago, the founders turned over the reins to a small organization known as the Portland Austen Society.  They’ve been running the festival.  Then last year, the Society was taken over by a local events company run by Ashley Reading.”

          “And that’s when things went downhill.”  Sophie adds.  “Rosemary thinks someone’s taking money from the festival and putting it elsewhere.  Now they’re threatening to shut down the festival for good.”

          “Is this really something we need to get involved in?”  Nate asks.  “I mean, it’s a festival.  Nothing life and death.”

          Sophie levels _a look_ at him.  “We’re involved.”  She says.  “The festival is near and dear to my heart.”

          “Okay, fine.  We’re involved.”  Nate frowns at the screen, where the picture of Ashley is still up.  “So - Moscow Switch?”

          Sophie sniffs.  “Nate.  Leave this to me.”

         

 

\----------------

 

          Parker pokes at the material of her dress.  “This is kinda itchy.”  She says.  “Why do I have to wear it?”

          “Everyone goes to the festival in costume.”  Sophie explains as she puts the finishing touches on her hair.  “If we want to fit in, we have to as well.”

          “Hmm.”  Parker tugs at a sleeve.  “Are the boys dressing up?”

          Sophie gives her a conspiratorial smile.  “Of course.”

          And Parker is beyond gleeful at seeing Eliot and Hardison in Regency wear.  Eliot’s got his hair tied back with little tendrils framing his face.  Hardison is looking distinctly uncomfortable in his own outfit and keeps fiddling with the buttons on his vest - at least, until Sophie bats his hands away.  

          Nate appears, looking surprisingly unwrinkled in his costume.  “Let’s get this show on the road.  Everyone know what we’re doing?”

          The plan is one of Sophie’s simpler ones, although that barely means anything.  It’s still more complicated than it probably needs to be, mostly because Sophie insists that they must participate in the festival and not simply go in as spectators or newspaper photographers or journalists or any of the other, non-dress-up ideas that had been thrown out.  

          Still, Parker thinks, there’s something fun about dressing up like this.  As they make their way across the festival grounds and towards the towering historic mansion that’s hosting the opening masquerade ball, she thinks that it’d be fun to be a Regency-era cat burglar.  She’d probably get a cool name.

          Hardison freaks out when he finds out that phones aren’t allowed inside the ballroom.  “But this is my lifeline.”  He says, outraged. 

          The ball is predictably over the top and Parker is instantly in love.  It’s so fancy and there are so many sparkly goodies dangling from ears and necks and wrists.  Balls, she thinks, are more fun than she thought. 

          “Ready?”  Sophie asks over comms.  

          “As I’ll ever be.”  Hardison presents his arm to Parker.  “Can I have this dance?”

          She grins.  “Yeah.  I mean, yes.  Is that what they said?”

          “Something like that.”  Hardison spins her around in a circle.  “Ashley is by the door.  Eliot?”

          “On it.”

          The plan hinges on Eliot being charming and Parker being able to sneak through the mansion in a dress.  Neither are totally impossible, but Parker’s still got that familiar jangle of nerves she gets before jobs that are just a little bit outside of her comfort zone.  Dresses - especially Regency ones - are a bit difficult to sneak around in. 

          Sophie and Nate, meanwhile, are supposed to be finding one of the journalists covering the event and making sure they’re in place.  The nice thing about this plan, Parker thinks, is that it’s a quick in and out sort of job.  No days of setup. 

          Over comms, she hears Eliot turn on the Southern charm.  It’s not long before Parker spots him and Ashley duck out of the main ballroom and down one of the hallways.  Hardison twirls her one last time before kissing her hand. 

          “Go get ‘em.”  He says.

          The hallway is mostly deserted save for a few couples escaping the crowds of the ballroom.  Parker passes them and ducks into one of the nearby rooms - a small study that serves as the office.  All she has to do is find proof. 

          It’s not hard to do.  Master criminal, Ashley is not.  Parker is almost disappointed.  There’s something about tonight that feels so magical that it’s a bit of a let down to be able to just find a book that’s clearly been doctored and a bill that shows Ashley’s company has recently paid off some personal debts.

          She takes a few pictures and sends them to Hardison.  “This good enough proof?”

          “Yeah, perfect.”

          “What are you doing?”

          Parker looks up to find Ashley in the doorway, a gun drawn.  Well, that wasn’t exactly to plan.  She wonders if any of Jane Austen’s characters ever had a gun drawn on them.  

          “Eliot?”  She hisses.  Then, louder, “I got lost.”

          “Right.”  Ashley says.  She steps inside the room and shuts the door.  “And you just happened to stumble upon those financial statements.”

          “Hang on, Parker.  She locked me in a damn closet.”  Eliot says over comms, before there’s a big crash that suggests the closet door is no longer standing.

          “It’s a little late to do anything.”  Parker says.  “I already know about the embezzling.  All I have to do is -”

          “Quiet.”  Ashley snaps.  “You think anyone is going to believe a thief?”

          “I have proof.”  

          “Not if you’re dead.”

          The door flies open then, banging into Ashley and making her drop the gun.  Eliot barrels in first, disarming the weapon and then rushing to Parker’s side.  A news reporter and her cameraman follow.

          “Get a closeup.”  The reporter orders.  

          Things wrap up fast enough after that.  Eliot flashes a badge and declares Ashley is under arrest.  The real cops show up and lead her away in handcuffs.  The news runs a story that night with the headline “Lady Bandit saves Austen Festival”.  It’s not quite as exciting of a nickname as Parker would like, but it will do.

          She doesn’t argue when Sophie insists that since they already bought tickets for the rest of the festival, they might as well spend the whole weekend there.  Itchy as the dresses are, Parker is having fun.

          Rosemary comes up to them on the last day.  “You did it!”  She says.  “I can’t thank you enough.  Ashley’s company has given up any right to the festival, and the Society is back in charge.”

          “All in a day’s work.”  Sophie says.  “Now, who wants to come with me for that speaker series on _Emma_?”

 


End file.
